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KR-20260062697-A - Fuel cell, apparatus and method for manufacturing the same

KR20260062697AKR 20260062697 AKR20260062697 AKR 20260062697AKR-20260062697-A

Abstract

A fuel cell of an embodiment comprises: a cell stack comprising a plurality of unit cells each having an opening and stacked in a first direction; first and second end plates respectively disposed at both ends of the cell stack; a first protrusion having a first truncated cone shape protruding from the first end plate in a first direction; and a second protrusion protruding from the upper surface of the second end plate toward the first protrusion, having a receiving groove that accommodates the first protrusion, and having a side portion having elasticity to flow in a direction intersecting the first direction as the first protrusion is inserted into the receiving groove to align the plurality of unit cells.

Inventors

  • 임재범

Assignees

  • 현대자동차주식회사
  • 기아 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241029

Claims (13)

  1. A cell stack comprising a plurality of unit cells stacked in a first direction, each including an opening; First and second end plates respectively disposed at both ends of the cell stack; A first protrusion having a first truncated cone shape protruding in the first direction from the first end plate; and A fuel cell comprising a second protrusion that protrudes toward the first protrusion from the upper surface of the second end plate and has a receiving groove that receives the first protrusion, and has a side portion having elasticity to flow in a direction intersecting the first direction as the first protrusion is inserted into the receiving groove to align the plurality of unit cells.
  2. In Article 1, The above second protrusion The first protrusion has a second truncated cone shape before being inserted into the receiving groove, A fuel cell that changes from a second truncated cone shape to a cylinder shape as the first protrusion is inserted into the receiving groove.
  3. In Article 1, The above opening is a fuel cell formed in each element component of the plurality of unit cells.
  4. In claim 5, the above element parts are A separator that separates the above plurality of unit cells from one another; Membrane electrode assembly; and It includes a gas diffusion layer that evenly distributes the reactant gases hydrogen and oxygen, and The above opening is a fuel cell positioned around the reaction surface of the above element component.
  5. In Paragraph 3, The above opening has a through-hole shape and is a fuel cell positioned adjacent to the edge of the above element component.
  6. In Paragraph 3, The above opening has a notch shape and is a fuel cell positioned in contact with the edge of the above element component.
  7. In Paragraph 3, A fuel cell comprising first and second openings respectively positioned at at least two of the four corners of the element component facing each other in a diagonal direction.
  8. In Article 7, A fuel cell comprising the above openings further including third and fourth openings respectively disposed at the remaining two locations of the four corners between the first and second openings.
  9. In Article 1, A fuel cell further comprising a fixing part that secures the first protrusion to the second end plate by engaging with the end of the first protrusion received in the second protrusion.
  10. A fuel cell manufacturing apparatus comprising a cell stack having a plurality of unit cells stacked in a first direction and each having an opening, and first and second end plates respectively disposed at both ends of the cell stack, A storage unit that stores unit cells; A first transfer unit for transferring the above-mentioned stored unit cell; A stacking transfer unit that first stacks and transfers a predetermined number of unit cells transferred from the first transfer unit; A secondary stacking unit that secondarily stacks the predetermined number of unit cells transferred by the stacking transfer unit onto the second end plate and stacks the first end plate onto a plurality of unit cells stacked in the secondary stacking unit; and It includes a pressurizing unit that pressurizes a plurality of unit cells stacked in the above secondary stacking section and the first end plate to complete the cell stack, The above stacking transfer unit An upper plate capable of flowing in the first direction; and It includes a wedge pin having a variable width according to the lowering and raising of the upper plate, and The above secondary stacking part It includes a laminated pin that protrudes from the upper surface of the second end plate toward the wedge pin and is insertable into the inner side of the wedge pin, The wedge pin, having a width narrowed as the upper plate descends, can be inserted into the opening, and A fuel cell manufacturing device in which the stacking pin inserted into the inner side of the wedge pin is inserted into the opening of the predetermined number of stacked unit cells.
  11. In Article 10, The above wedge pin is The upper plate has elasticity such that the width narrows as it descends and widens as it ascends, A fuel cell manufacturing apparatus in which the elastic force of the above wedge pin is greater than the gravitational force for the above predetermined number of unit cells having an opening inserted into the above wedge pin.
  12. In Article 10, It further includes a moving unit that moves the unit cell transferred from the first transfer unit to the stacking transfer unit, and The above stacking transfer unit is a fuel cell manufacturing device that stacks the unit cells moved from the above moving unit.
  13. A method for manufacturing a fuel cell using a fuel cell manufacturing apparatus described in any one of claims 10 to 12, (a) a step of transferring a unit cell stored in the above storage unit; (b) a step of stacking the transferred unit cells in a predetermined number in a first step; (c) a step of secondarily stacking a predetermined number of unit cells stacked in the first step onto the second end plate, and stacking the first end plate onto the plurality of unit cells stacked in the second step; and (d) a step of pressing the plurality of unit cells stacked in the second step and the first end plate, and Steps (a) through (d) above are performed until all of the plurality of unit cells are stacked on the second end plate, and The above step (b) (b1) lowering the upper plate to narrow the width of the wedge pin and inserting it into the opening; and (b2) includes the step of gripping and lifting the unit cell having the inserted opening as the width of the wedge pin is restored by raising the upper plate, and Steps (b1) and (b2) are performed repeatedly until a predetermined number of unit cells are stacked, and The above (c) step (c1) A step of inserting the stacking pin into the inner side of the wedge pin so that the opening of the stacked predetermined number of unit cells moves from the wedge pin to the stacking pin and is stacked on the second end plate; and (c2) A method for manufacturing a fuel cell comprising the step of stacking the first end plate when all of the above-mentioned plurality of unit cells are stacked on the second end plate.

Description

Fuel cell, apparatus and method for manufacturing the same The embodiments relate to a fuel cell and an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same. Generally, fuel cells contain a polymer electrolyte membrane, and generate electricity by supplying air to one side of the membrane and hydrogen to the other. These fuel cells can be used to supply electricity to vehicles. In such fuel cells, there is a requirement to improve the alignment of the cell stack, in which multiple unit cells are stacked. Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of the end plate and cell stack in a typical fuel cell. FIGS. 2a to 2c show front views according to an embodiment of the element part shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3a shows an exploded perspective view of a fuel cell according to one embodiment, and FIG. 3b shows an exploded perspective view of a fuel cell according to another embodiment. Figure 4 shows an exploded cross-sectional view according to the embodiment of Figures 3a and 3b. Figure 5 shows a combined cross-sectional view according to the embodiment of Figures 3a and 3b. FIGS. 6a to 6d show process cross-sectional views for explaining a method of manufacturing a fuel cell according to one embodiment. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of a fuel cell manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment. FIGS. 8A and FIGS. 8B respectively show an exploded cross-sectional view and a combined cross-sectional view according to an embodiment of the stacking transfer unit and secondary stacking unit illustrated in FIG. 7. FIGS. 9(a) to 9(f) are local process cross-sectional views according to an embodiment for explaining the stacking and transfer operations of a stacking transfer unit. FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (l) are cross-sectional views of the entire process to explain a method for manufacturing a fuel cell according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a method for manufacturing a fuel cell according to another embodiment. FIG. 12a shows a fuel cell according to a comparative example, and FIG. 12b shows a fuel cell according to an embodiment. Figure 13 is a drawing showing a manufacturing apparatus for a fuel cell according to a comparative example. Hereinafter, to specifically explain the present invention, embodiments will be described, and to aid in understanding the invention, the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments according to the present invention may be modified in various different forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments described below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those with average knowledge in the art. In the description of the present embodiment, where it is stated that each element is formed "on or under," the "on or under" includes both cases where two elements are in direct contact with each other and one or more other elements are formed indirectly between the two elements. In addition, when expressed as "up" or "down" (on or under), it can include the meaning of a downward direction as well as an upward direction based on a single element. Additionally, relational terms used below, such as "first" and "second," "upper/superior/above," and "lower/subordinate/below," may be used to distinguish one entity or element from another, without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. Hereinafter, a fuel cell according to an embodiment and an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same will be described as follows with reference to the attached drawings. For convenience, the fuel cell and the apparatus and method for manufacturing the same will be described using a Cartesian coordinate system (x-axis, y-axis, z-axis), but it is understood that they can also be described using other coordinate systems. Furthermore, according to the Cartesian coordinate system, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are orthogonal to each other, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis may intersect each other. In the description below, the first direction refers to the x-axis direction, and the first to third directions may be orthogonal to each other or may intersect each other. The fuel cell according to the embodiment may be, for example, a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC: Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell), which is most widely studied as a power source for vehicle propulsion, but the embodiment is not limited to a specific type of fuel cell. The fuel cell may include an end plate (or, a pressurized plate or a compression plate) (not shown) and a cell stack (not shown). Hereinafter, an example of a cell stack included in a fuel cell according to an embodiment is described as follows with reference to FIG. 1. Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional